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What does Jihad mean?
This word represents a concept
which is much misunderstood in the West. The term is explained nicely by
the Christian scholar Ira G. Zepp, Jr. in his book entitled A Muslim
Primer on pages 133-135. We adapt from his answer the following;
The essential meaning of Jihad
is the spiritual, psychological, and physical effort we exert to be close
to God and thus achieve a just and harmonious society. Jihad literally
means "striving" or "struggle" and is shorthand for Jihadfe Saheel Allah
(struggle for God's cause). In a sense, every Muslim is a Mujahid, one
who strives for God and justice.
Al-Ghazali captured the essence
of Jihad when he said:
"The real Jihad is the warfare
against (one's own) passions." Dr. ibrahim Abu-Rabi calls Jihad "the
execution of effort against evil in the self and every manifestation of
evil in society." In a way, Jihad is the Muslim's purest sacrifice: to
struggle to live a perfect life and completely submit to God.
Another form of Jihad is the
striving to translate the Word of God into action. If one has experienced
God and received guidance from the Qur'an, one struggles to apply that
guidance in daily life. So the larger, more prevalent meaning of Jihad
is the spiritual struggle of the
soul. In this case, Jihad
is always present for the believer whether there is an external enemy or
not. We should never reduce Jihad to violence.
A third level of Jihad is
popularly known as "holy war." The classic passage is found in the
Qur'an:
"Fight
in the way of Allah those who fight against you, but transgress not the
limits. Truly Allah likes not the transgressors" (Qur'an 2; 190).
It is crucial to note here
that what is condoned is defensive warfare; Islam cannot justify aggressive
war. Islam through the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and the Traditions are
also against killing non-combatants, torturing of prisoners, the destruction
of crops, animals and homes.
Adapted from Ira G. Zepp,
Jr., A Muslim Primer (1992, Wakefield Editions, US) pp.133-135.
Robert Eliwood of the
University of Southern California has the following to say about the Muslim
concept of Jihad:
Out of the community ideal
of Islam comes the concept of jihad, or holy war, which is designed to
defend Islam and allow its social practice, though not to force individual
conversions, which is forbidden, Since Islam in principle is a Community
as well as a religion, presumably only an absolute pacifist would be able
to reject the theory of jihad out of hand, since other communities also
fight to defend or expand their ways of life.
(Many Peoples, Many Faiths
by Robert S. Ellwood, 4th edi-tion, Simon & Schuster, US, 1982, p.346).
Source:Common
Questions people ask about Islam
Author: Shabir Ally
